Seattle Construction Crane Collapse Leaves 4 Dead

SEATTLE, WA — Four people were killed Saturday in Seattle when a construction crane collapsed onto Mercer Way in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and state workplace safety officials were on scene to conduct an investigation.

The crane fell at around 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of Fairview Avenue, crushing six cars, according to Seattle fire officials. Another three people were injured — an infant, a 27-year-old man, and a 25-year-old woman — and transported to Harborview. One person was treated at the scene.

Two of the people killed were ironworkers at the construction site, according to officials. The two other victims were riding in separate cars along Mercer. Three of the victims were men, one was a woman.

"My thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured," Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan wrote on Twitter Saturday afternoon.

By 9 p.m., the woman and infant had been released from the hospital. Durkan highlighted their survival as a miracle amid the tragedy.

The incident closed all east and westbound lanes of Mercer, according to SDOT. Mercer will remain closed into Sunday due to an investigation into the incident, according to Seattle police. The closure includes the I-5 on and off ramps at the east end of Mercer.

"Determining how and why this tragedy happened will take time," Durkan said.

The crane was at a development called Lakefront Block 25, which is being built by Vulcan Inc., the development firm founded by Paul Allen. The development includes office buildings for Google's Seattle campus and 149 apartments. The construction site stretches along Mercer between Terry Avenue and Fairview. The development was also damaged in the crane collapse.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to the families who have lost loved ones and our hope is that those who have been injured return to full health as soon as possible," Vulcan said in a statement Saturday night.

The construction contractor is Bellevue-based GLY Construction, according to Vulcan. The company has worked on a host of buildings in the Seattle area, including the Overlake Medical Center and several Amazon buildings. There have been no violations at the construction site, according to the state Department of Labor and Industries.

The Seattle area leads the nation in overall number of construction cranes. The number stood at 65 last July, according to the Rider Levett Bucknall crane index. The second highest in the U.S. was Chicago with 40.

The last crane accident in the area happened in 2006 in Bellevue. One man was killed when a crane collapsed at the Pinnacle Bell Centre Apartments project. An investigation revealed that the base of the crane was faulty.